Five Blake Lyrics
Five Blake Lyrics (1/2)
Performance from Kyle Siddons Masters Recital: April 2011
Five Blake Lyrics (2/2)
Performance from Kyle Siddons Masters Recital: April 2011
Baritone Kyle Siddons, mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf, and pianist Mark McNeill, April 2011, Longy School of Music
Baritone Kyle Siddons, mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf, and pianist Mark McNeill, April 2011, Longy School of Music
Baritone Kyle Siddons, mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf, and pianist Mark McNeill, April 2011, Longy School of Music
Baritone Kyle Siddons, mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf, and pianist Mark McNeill, April 2011, Longy School of Music
Baritone Kyle Siddons, mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf, and pianist Mark McNeill, April 2011, Longy School of Music
The original version is dedicated to Kyle Siddons and Mary Gerbi. The baritone version is dedicated to Kyle Siddons. The mezzo-soprano version is dedicated to Misha Penton.
The final song—To the Evening Star—is originally conceived to be a duet between Mezzo-soprano and Baritone. This is the ideal performance medium. The solo versions have been provided for use only in the event that a suitable duet partner can not be found.
“I first heard Kyle Siddons sing in 2005. At that time, I was blown away by his sheer musicality and vocal power in the upper register. I decided to write this cycle of songs for him and mezzo-soprano Mary Gerbi to perform. At Kyle’s request, I’ve also prepared the five songs in a baritone solo version. These Blake poems are fervent, passionate, distraught, bitter and gentle. Their text calls so achingly for a musical setting, and I hope only that I have done justice to Blake’s words with my own embellishments.”
“I first met Misha Penton in April of 2010. At this time, she had heard me conduct a performance of the Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs with baritone Michael Walsh. Soon after, I sent her copies of my own songs, including these Blake lyrics, at the time arranged for both mezzo-soprano and baritone. Misha told me how much she enjoyed the songs and asked if she might perform one of the baritone selections at a song soirée. Two months later, I have decided to revise the cycle so that it might be performed by mezzo-soprano alone. So, while the original version was dedicated to my friends Kyle Siddons and Mary Gerbi, this mezzo-soprano version owes its genesis to Misha. The Blake poems herein are at times fervent, passionate, distraught, bitter, and gentle. Their text calls so achingly for a musical setting, and I hope only that I have done justice to Blake’s words with my own embellishments.”
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